Secretive peace talks between Ukraine and Russia collapsed before they even started following Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region last week.
The two countries were set to hold indirect talks in Qatar on a deal to halt strikes on energy and power infrastructure, in a first step towards a partial-ceasefire.
However, Russian officials were said to be furious at Ukraine’s surprise incursion, according to the Washington Post, which revealed the secret Doha talks.
Moscow’s delegation described it as “an escalation” and immediately pulled out of the talks this week. A Qatari diplomat said that Russia “didn’t call off the talks, they said give us time”.
Since the proposed talks collapsed, Ukraine‘s surprise cross-border operation has entered its second week and appears to be strengthening, leading to an unprecedented crisis for Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv has so far seized at least 82 settlements, while more than 120,000 Russian civilians have fled the area.
In a tongue-in-joke jab at the Russian leader, Ukraine has now jokingly declared a ‘Kursk People’s Republic’.
Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk were photographed planting mock flags declaring the new republic, and joking that they had liberated it from Russia.
In 2014, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, backed by Moscow, proclaimed the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic inside Ukraine. They later held referendums that were largely seen as rigged declaring their independence from Kyiv.
In 2022, following Russia‘s invasion, Donetsk and Luhansk were two of four regions that were formally annexed by Russia.
The joke quickly spread on social media, with several Ukranians calling for a referendum for the independence of the Kursk People’s Republic.
Meanwhile, Russia suffered another blow in Kursk yesterday when Ukraine destroyed a strategically important bridge over the river Seym.
The bridge had been used by the Kremlin to supply its troops in Ukraine.
Russia said that Ukraine likely used missiles supplied by the US – HIMARS – to carry out the strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that the captured territories could be swapped for Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow during future peace talks.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak echoed this, saying that the lightning offensive was designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks about its war in Ukraine.